Power of Caring
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Mario Lemieux

Press Conference from Sept. 1, 1999

After having saved many games for the Penguins, Mario Lemieux has now saved the entire franchise. Rick Stewart/Allsport

Question: Mario, now that you go from player to owner, what is your first step?

Mario Lemieux: Well, today I am certainly very excited about having the opportunity to come back to the game after a couple of years. This is really a dream come true. After these last ten months of working hard on this deal of trying to keep the Penguins in Pittsburgh, I am very excited about the opportunity.

Question: Do you have to go back to work tomorrow?

Mario Lemieux: I am sure my lawyers will be there, but I won't. (laugh)

Question: Does the late start put you behind as far as marketing, or keep you from reaching your projections in the first year?

Mario Lemieux: It is going to be difficult, but we've been working on this for a while now, getting ready for the approval, and we are ready to go to work tomorrow. We have been meeting with a lot of sponsors over the last couple of weeks, and trying to get a feel for where they're at and what their needs are. I think we are in pretty good shape with the advertising as well as the sponsorships.

Question: Mario, watching from afar coming from New York, and outside of Pittsburgh, it looks like you had a really hard time getting all the commitments lined up from all your banks. What made that so difficult, getting all the money in hand, and meeting all these deadlines?

Mario Lemieux: Well, bankruptcy is a very difficult process. I had no idea it was this difficult to put a deal together. There are so many elements throughout the life of this deal that have been difficult with investors, with all the parties involved, the banks, senior lenders, SMG, FOX. There were a lot of moving targets on a daily basis, and that is what made this process so difficult, especially down the stretch. I am just glad that we were finally able to put everything together over the last couple of days, and even this morning we had some things to be resolved, which we resolved early this morning and late last night, and we are ready to go forward.

Question: What is the final number of actual equity stake?

Mario Lemieux: I believe $52 million that has come into the transaction.

Question: Mario, when you look at what is going on in the league, I think St. Louis is for sale, and the Islanders certainly with their situation, and Anaheim is talking about leaving, why would you get into a business that seems detracting or losing owners?

Mario Lemieux: Well I think there is a lot of upside to the game. I see the future to be very bright in the NHL, and at the same time it was important for me to keep the Penguins in Pittsburgh. They have been a big part of my life for 15 years. I have chosen to live there and raise my four kids, and Pittsburgh is very important to me. That was one of the reasons I decided to put our own group together ten months ago, and to put our effort into saving the Penguins, and keeping them there. I think they are a big part of the community. It would be very difficult for the city to lose the Penguins, especially after winning two Cups in the early 90's, and struggling for so many years, it was important for me to do my share, and try and keep them there.

Question: You say hockey has an upside and Bill Torrey is saying we have to put a "slam" in salaries..."

Mario Lemieux: Well, we have a lot of work to do, that is for sure. But, I am new in this process, and I am going to learn the business, and I am sure once I learn it, hopefully I will have some good insight.

Question: Mario, when you retired a couple of years ago, did you in the back of your mind ever think that you would become an owner, or if you would like to do that?

Mario Lemieux: No, not really. I think that was an unusual situation because of the team defaulting, and the wages paying us, and the team going into bankruptcy, and that gave me an opportunity to buy the Penguins really, and to put a group together that would allow to have that opportunity. It is pure circumstance, and in a way there is a sad side of it, where I did not get paid for the services, but I certainly welcome the opportunity to come back to the game, and be a big part of it.

Question: Mario, how involved will you be with the organization, in terms of the business and hockey operation ends?

Mario Lemieux: I think more in the business side. Like I have said many times, I think we have one of the best general managers in the League in Craig Patrick. He has done an excellent job throughout his career in Pittsburgh, and I certainly have a lot of confidence in him. He is the one that is going to run the hockey side, and he has done a great job in the last couple of years with free agency. The business side, as you all know, has been very difficult for the Penguins over the last couple of years, and we need to rectify that. That's where I am going to spend most of my time, and surround myself with some smart people, people who have been successful in the past, and hopefully do the job.

Question: Can you start talking to (Pennsylvania Governor) Tom Ridge about the new arena?

Mario Lemieux: For right now we all know that for this team to be viable in Pittsburgh, we need a new arena, but this is not our focus right now. Our focus is to take the Penguins out of bankruptcy, which we did, that was our first step, make the Penguins a viable franchise, and to keep the team competitive in the future. I think everybody realizes that eventually for this team to be viable in the long run and stay competitive with the other teams in the league, there will be a new arena, hopefully.

Question: Mario, I think because you are only a couple of years removed from being a player, I think people will wonder what kind of perspective you will bring to the League and the Board of Governors, that they might not have otherwise had. A few years ago, you had some comments about the League. Do you feel you have any new perspectives to offer?

Mario Lemieux: Well, I would hope so, but as I had said before this is all brand new to me, and I am going to have to take a step back and learn from these people, and see what is involved in the future. Anything that I can do to improve the game or give some ideas on how to improve the game, I would be willing to do that. I think I have some pretty good ideas. It is only to make the game better for the fans, for the players, for television, and to make it a very exciting sport, like all the other sports, like football and basketball. Hopefully, I will have an input in the future, but I am still a rookie at this game.

Question: Aside from Dan Rooney (Pittsburgh Steelers), you are the only guy who could pull this off...

Mario Lemieux: Well, having spent the last fifteen years of my life in Pittsburgh, and having that relationship with the fans and the people in Pittsburgh, it has been a great relationship from the start. I think having chosen to stay in Pittsburgh all these years gave me that opportunity to have a good relationship with the fans, and really pull it off, and have the support of all the community and all the fans in Pittsburgh, so, it had a big impact on it.

Question: How did that relationship translate during negotiations with Fox Sports and SMG?

Mario Lemieux: As I said before, that was a difficult process, and I was involved in some of those negotiations. We had some people who negotiated for us who did an excellent job, and I was not particularly involved in those discussions one hundred percent.

Question: Can you say what your rent will be?

Mario Lemieux: I believe that is all public knowledge through the bankruptcy court.

Question: Mario, do you want to see more scoring in the game?

Mario Lemieux: Oh yeah. I think that is what I did best, to score goals and make it exciting for the fans. Hopefully in the future, we can find some ways to open up the game a little bit, and make the game more exciting for the fans, and especially for television. Yeah, I would like to see more scoring.